"DWTS" Week 6 Recap: The Competition Is Heating Up
It finally feels like Season 28 of “Dancing with the Stars” is hitting its stride. All of the celebs seem to be getting more comfortable with dancing—meaning we’re starting to see some more difficult dance styles and some more impressive choreo. In other words: We’re ready to start placing bets as to who’s going to take home the Mirrorball Trophy!
In case you missed last night’s episode—which was chock-full of some of the best dancing we’ve seen yet this season—we rounded up the highlights.
Kel Mitchell and Witney Carson: Quickstep
Kel Mitchell, who came into the competition with zero dance experience, hit some roadblocks during the first few weeks. But last night, he and partner Witney Carson delivered a textbook quickstep. Their performance was full of the energy and excitement we’re learning to associate with team #DanceWitKel, and it earned them two 9s and an 8 from the judges, for a total score of 26. Keep an eye on this team, folks—they’re coming in hot.
Karamo Brown and Jenna Johnson: Contemporary
We double dare you not to tear up while watching Karamo Brown and Jenna Johnson’s touching contemporary routine, which Karamo dedicated to his long-estranged father. This performance delivered on every front—it had fluid movement quality, emotional depth, and lots of gravity-defying lifts. The judges all agreed that this was the duo’s best dance of the season so far, and gave them two 8s and a 9, totaling 25.
James Van Der Beek and Emma Slater: Samba
Emma Slater, queen of the samba, you’ve done it again! Once we were able to see past the inexplicable laser light show that occurred during this performance, we were obsessed. James Van Der Beek totally brought it with tons of hip action—enough that, in a truly shocking moment, buttoned-up head judge Len Goodman commented, “Tutti, frutti, look at that booty!” (We still haven’t fully recovered.) The judges gave the pair straight 9s, for a total score of 27.
The show ended with a shocking elimination: Sailor Brinkley Cook and partner Val Chmerkovskiy were sent home after receiving one of the highest scores of the night.
What do you think? Did the right pair get sent packing? Who’s headed home next week?